Beethoven Symphonies: Metronome Markings

11 Mar Beethoven Symphonies: Metronome Markings

There is a lot of debate about the veracity of these markings. In the end what utterly obliged is to bring the most effective performance to the listener in that specific situation or hall. The real Beethovenian message its not in metronomic numbers but in the way the listener may be touched by the music being performed. Nevertheless, I always felt fascinated not about the individual metronome settings, but how they relate to each other within the same symphony, and/or between symphonies written years apart.

Bellow you can find a table that I put together with the (almost all) metronome markings. The perfect way to see them all at a glance and find any relationships between them.

Click on the picture to enlarge:

Beethoven metronomes markings

* Eulenberg, Breitkoft and Braunschweig have the same as Barenreiter with the exception of the Allegro in the first movement (marked as ½ note = 80). Obviously a mistake from the publisher.